The9 (NASDAQ:NCTY) & MoneyLion (NYSE:ML) Head-To-Head Contrast

MoneyLion (NYSE:ML) and The9 (NASDAQ:NCTY) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability and valuation.

Risk & Volatility

MoneyLion has a beta of 2.94, indicating that its stock price is 194% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, The9 has a beta of 1.79, indicating that its stock price is 79% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

31.4% of MoneyLion shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.5% of The9 shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.9% of MoneyLion shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 30.8% of The9 shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for MoneyLion and The9, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MoneyLion	0	3	3	2	2.88
The9	0	0	0	0	0.00

MoneyLion presently has a consensus price target of $92.83, suggesting a potential upside of 8.07%. Given MoneyLion’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe MoneyLion is more favorable than The9.

Profitability

This table compares MoneyLion and The9’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MoneyLion	0.64%	1.18%	0.61%
The9	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares MoneyLion and The9″s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MoneyLion	$545.91 million	1.78	-$45.24 million	$0.75	114.53
The9	$176.49 million	0.62	$2.82 million	N/A	N/A

The9 has lower revenue, but higher earnings than MoneyLion.

Summary

MoneyLion beats The9 on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About MoneyLion

MoneyLion Inc., a financial technology company, provides personalized products and financial content for American consumers. The company's platform offers access to banking, borrowing, and investing solutions for customers. Its principal products include RoarMoney, an insured digital demand deposit account; Instacash, a cash advance product that gives customers early access to their recurring income deposits; Credit Builder Plus membership program; MoneyLion Investing, an online investment account that offers access to separately managed accounts invested based on model exchange-traded fund portfolios; Roundups, which provides features designed to encourage customers to establish good saving and investing habits; and MoneyLion Crypto, an online cryptocurrency account. It also provides marketplace solutions, such as valuable distribution, acquisition, growth, and monetization channels; and creative media and brand content services. MoneyLion Inc. was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About The9

The9 Limited operates as a cryptocurrency mining business in China, Eastern Europe, Asia, and North America. The company was formerly known as GameNow.net Limited and changed its name to The9 Limited in February 2004. The9 Limited was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People’s Republic of China.